I have never been to a hunt, or heard of a hunt, that does Opening Meet quite like GCH. It is truly a party and ends up being one of the clubs biggest fundraisers of the year. Why you ask? Becauase of the Tally Ho Wagons, aka Party Wagons!!!! The Tally Ho Wagon started out as a way for the social members (the non hunting members) to follow the hunt and get a chance to participate in at least 1 fox hunt a year. There were light snacks and some form of alcohol served on the wagon and everyone had a great time. Word got out about how much fun the party wagon was and now there are 6 wagons, pulled by tractors, that follow the hunt. 5 wagons carry 18-20 people on them, and the 6th wagon has room for 48/50 people. Basically it is an epic party out in the woods!
Both hunts in this area are live hunts (which means they look for the scent of a live fox) but for opening meet GCH lays out a drag (someone ahead of time lays a trail of fox scent in a predestined area for the hounds to find) This guarantees a fast hunt and the Tally Ho Wagons will have a lovely view of the riders galloping by. It really is a fun day for everyone involved!!
After the hunt everyone returns and has a glorious hunt breakfast at this old house and the merriment continues. I'm going to leave you with a few more pictures b/c my brain is a bit addled with the impending holiday and I can't think through a well written paragraph :) Enjoy the pictures instead!
I've never done a hunt but that sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteIt is so much fun!!!!!! GCH has trail rides during the summer that are a great way to introduce your horse to hunting before you go hunting with hounds :) You'll have to come to one of them and see how P does!!
Deleteum i would very much like to ride one of those party wagons!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe party wagons are a lot of fun!!!! A lot can happen on the party wagon bc there is more alcohol than should be mentioned on those wagons and well, alcohol and horse people just make for a very fun and entertaining party!!! 😂
DeleteMan that looks like a blast!
ReplyDeleteIt really is!!! Riding or spectating you are going to have a lot of fun!!!
DeleteGorgeous pictures. Those party wagons sound amazing. GCH had invited me to join at one of the paces but I just can’t do a live hunt. The party day with a drag would work though!
ReplyDeleteCome next year!!!! Or if you want to see how Gem will handle the hunt come to one of the trail rides this summer. It's a great way to have the feel of the hunt without the hounds and know how your horse will handle the group setting. And even if you don't want to do the regular hunts you can always just go to opening meet :)
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